UK firms starting to see benefit of diversity practices

The number of UK businesses with diversity policies that go beyond
legislation has risen by almost a fifth during the past 12 months, according
the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) Recruitment,
Retention and Turnover survey.

While all sectors have improved their take-up of diversity practices, the
private sector has shown the highest rate of improvement, with more than 60 per
cent of businesses now training interviewers in diversity issues.

However, the public sector continues to lead the way in encouraging
diversity, despite businesses raising their game.

The report suggests that more still needs to be done to increase diversity
and help solve the recruitment crisis.

Currently, 28 per cent advertise vacancies beyond traditional media to
target under-represented groups and evaluate the effectiveness of methods they
use to encourage equal opportunities. Yet a third fail to train interviewers in
equal opportunities/ diversity issues, and just 25 per cent try to use specific
images/words to target under-represented groups.

Rebecca Clake, CIPD organisation and resourcing adviser, said: "It’s
encouraging to see the private sector increasing its efforts to promote
diversity. However, more action could be taken. Employers could benefit from
training their recruitment professionals to have a thorough understanding of
diversity issues."